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      You are here >   2013 - The Year of the Groundhog 1
        
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      Feature Story - Archives
      2013 - The Year of the Groundhog
       Winter 2013


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      By Bill Rutsey, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association

      A year ago, the Canadian gaming community was looking forward to a year of promise, progress, evolution, and opportunity. What we got instead was mostly inertia and indecision driven principally by fear and misunderstanding.

      That’s not to say that 2013 didn’t have some success stories and advances. There were instances of governments and agencies successfully evaluating current and future markets and opportunities, planning coherently and then moving to execute on their plans. British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries' rollout and expansion of online and mobile PlayNow platforms, and SaskGaming’s organizational review and realignment to focus on providing excellent guest services, are both instances of such proactive progress. There were also several notable gaming property initiatives, including the renovations and renewals of McPhillips Station Casino in Winnipeg and Casino de Montreal, the relaunch and rebranding of Hard Rock Casino Vancouver and the relocation of the Vancouver Edgewater Casino getting back on track.

      Such successes aside, the big expectations for 2013 were with the Senate, expected to pass Bill C-290 that would legalize single-event sports betting, and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s (OLG) modernization plan that was announced in 2012.

       

       

       

      By far the biggest opportunity for change was the OLG modernization, the crucial elements of which were transferring ownership and day-to-day operation of its gaming facilities and lottery to the private sector, allowing new gaming sites in convenient locations (including Toronto), and the launch of a full online offering.

      This potential huge opportunity for the private sector came to a crashing pause with the January 2013 selection by the governing Liberal Party of a new leader and Premier, Kathleen Wynne, who fired OLG Chair Paul Godfrey and announced a re-think of policy regarding the support of horseracing.

      Adding to this was the absolute fiasco surrounding the potential development of a destination resort facility in the Greater Toronto Area, compounded by the almost non-stop shenanigans at Toronto City Hall that captured world-wide attention.

      On the brighter side, on December 12 OLG released the Requests for Pre-Qualification (RFPQ) for parties interested in developing and operating gaming businesses in the West GTA, Central and GTA zones; with the expectation of releasing the results for the initial round of RFPQ’s soon.

      2013 was also supposed to be the year that brought clarity as to whether or not single event sports betting would be legalized in Canada, a change that has been requested by nine provinces. Bill C-290, which had been unanimously approved by the House of Commons, has been in the Senate since March 2012. Unfortunately, the Bill has been held at Third (final) Reading in the Senate by a small group of senators opposed to the change.

      Which brings me to the characterization of 2013 being the year of the groundhog. Most of you have seen the movie Groundhog Day, wherein Bill Murray finds himself caught up in an endless time loop – the situation that both OLG modernization and Bill C-290 seem to have been trapped in. We can only hope that in 2014 the loop will be broken.

      For Ontario Modernization this will mean release of the names of the parties short-listed pursuant of the RFPQ processes, quickly followed by Requests for Proposals (RFP) from qualified developers and operators. Overhanging the process is a potential provincial election in 2014 should the existing minority government be defeated.

      With regards to sports betting, we expect that the Bill will be finally dealt with in the Senate and pass. Should this happen, look for provincial lottery and gaming corporations to offer sports betting in a variety of forms, including in casino sports books, online and potentially on mobile devices.

      Finally, I’d like to wish everyone safe and happy holidays and a prosperous New Year. For me – all I want for Christmas is real progress in 2014.

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